That's it, Sony has officially won, PS4 at $399 and no online requirements for single player or dirty DRM on used games.

Well played Sony... well played indeed

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Yes, well played indeed.
Console doesn't look like a VCR, but instead with a DVD player (albeit slightly futuristic).
Online features are charged (DRM you have to pay for, in case a game has MP).
You can lend games, but no details so far if the person that receives the game will be restricted to SP.
"Share" button. (Why?)("Select" is gone now too.)
I'm sure more is to come eventually.
Still, it sounds like a more appealing product than the xbox one.
Not that I'm going to get either.

Yes, well played indeed.
Console doesn't look like a VCR, but instead with a DVD player (albeit slightly futuristic).
Online features are charged (DRM you have to pay for, in case a game has MP).
You can lend games, but no details so far if the person that receives the game will be restricted to SP.
"Share" button. (Why?)("Select" is gone now too.)
I'm sure more is to come eventually.
Still, it sounds like a more appealing product than the xbox one.
Not that I'm going to get either.

Asked what would happen if a third-party publisher wanted to “restrict” their games, Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Jack Tretton said in an E3 interview with GameTrailers, “We create the platform. We certainly stated that with our first party games, we’re not going to be doing that.

"But we welcome publishers and business models to our platform. There’s going to be free-to-play, there’s going to be every potential business model on there. And again, that’s up to their relationship with the consumer...we’re not going to dictate that.

Asked further if PlayStation 4 would allow for types of DRM for third-party games, Tretton answered, “The DRM decision is going to have to be in the hands of third-parties. That’s not something we’re going to dictate, control, mandate or implement."

It's the same deal that current-gen consoles follow -- game publishers and developers have the ability to implement measures such as online passes.

I don't see many third-party publishers going with ridiculous DRM out of nowhere on the PS4. EA just announced they were doing away with online passes and removed them a few weeks ago. Also Sony announcing that its first party titles won't restrict used games in my opinion will set a precedent for third party publishers. Of course some titles will likely implement DRM in some form but I think they will be very few and far between as it has been in the current generation.

Asked what would happen if a third-party publisher wanted to “restrict” their games, Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Jack Tretton said in an E3 interview with GameTrailers, “We create the platform. We certainly stated that with our first party games, we’re not going to be doing that.

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But the means are still there. Gee, you could of at least take the initiative, Sony, and restrict the ways publishers might end up shoving stuff up on our metaphorical posteriors.
Regardless, one still has to pay for online content, which in a game's case is going to be the access to the MP feature.

I don't see many third-party publishers going with ridiculous DRM out of nowhere on the PS4. EA just announced they were doing away with online passes and removed them a few weeks ago. Also Sony announcing that its first party titles won't restrict used games in my opinion will set a precedent for third party publishers. Of course some titles will likely implement DRM in some form but I think they will be very few and far between as it has been in the current generation.

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I would personally guess publishers like EA and Ubisoft Pushed Microsoft to implement this DRM, not that they don't want it because history tells us they do want this, especially EA.

the new xbox seriously looks like the slim with a new casing, and I guess Adam was right when he said "Deal with it." I feel bad or ouya though, its really becoming that thing everyone is forgetting, I can't see it succeeding.

At this point I have to agree with the panel that was discussing it with GameTrailers in between conferences. MS are shooting themselves in the foot by not talking about these issues with any kind of tact or understanding. Hell, even their reluctant Xbox One customers have put it in better terms.

You don't have to always be online, just connect once every 24 hours. Other than that you can use it offline. It's their insistence on acting like 24 hr cloud connection is actually necessary vs an option that is killing their PR in this E3. That and used game restrictions are making them sound like they're thumbing their noses at customers.

A cloud system of 300,000 global servers is great for building a strong online community and allowing some games more compute power and all that, but don't make it sound like it's more important than the customer's preferences. Jeez, what's so hard to get about that MS?

To put it another way, Jason Rubin aptly pointed out that Steam is an example of an online distribution service that doesn't allow reselling of games that actually works, it's all about how it's done. You can get a lot of games cheap, there are frequent sale prices, and they didn't debut it with a draconian attitude. They just explained how the system works.

With gaming heading more and more toward sophisticated online play, high end graphics, and digital downloads vs discs, I can see why they want to go this direction, but they need to keep in mind a lot of customers still prefer discs, offline play, and the freedom to buy used, or at least at a decent discount well after launch. If you don't present these changes properly you're going to cause a rift in your own fanbase.

Andy McNamara's position was just pitch the system at E3 and iron out the details later. I don't agree with that. If a customer has been waiting years to finally buy the next gen of a system designed to last 7-10 years, they deserve to know what they're getting themselves into. Wrong or not, at least MS had the balls to tell them, even though they probably knew a lot of people would be upset about the changes and weren't tactful about it.

I like that they are going back with that box matte look to the console. Although I don't understand why they keep changing up the logo. Seriously, the original PS Logo is still the best one, thats a great looking logo, and stickign with it would create better brand recognition. Maybe they feel they need a new logo because they can't find a good way to do numbers with the original logo? If thats the case I say use the PS logo then have small fine print on a front lip that says Playstation 4, would look much more classy.

I love most of the PR mistakes Microsoft has made when it comes to Xbox One.

"Xbox One doesn't require a constant internet connection, but you will be required to connect the console to the internet."

Translation:

"Adam Orth pissed a lot of people off by saying #DEALWITHIT over a required internet connection. We didn't really think people would care, so in order to spin us out of that situation we're gonna say that you don't need to be constantly connected to the internet, you just need to do so once a day."

"We're not blocking used games, we'll leave that up to the publisher."

Translation:

"The reason EA dropped Project $10 was because we've implemented a system of DRM into the Xbox One that makes their model obsolete. This way, they get a PR jump from the players and then we get to save face by saying the publisher has ultimate contol. Also, you'll be able to lend a game to a friend of yours that has been on your friends list for more than 30 days. The game will be permenently tied to his account, though."

"Yes, for those people who don't want to have a system that requires an internet connection we have a device for that, the Xbox 360!"

Translation:

"We don't give a fuck about our core gaming audience who might be miffed at the idea of having a system that constantly requires an internet connection. We're barely even making games on this motherfucker. We want you to watch TV, maybe play a game and make Skype calls. We don't give a shit about you, and we'll probably charge you a fee for an Xbox Live Gold account just so you can watch television programming through our set top box on top of your already required cable bill."